Ask ME Questions- I'm a first yr.

LAC_operon
Thu, 22 Dec 2005 14:48:08 +0000

I live in Lyman, and when I submitted my housing forms, I knew nothing about the stigma against lyman - it’s viewed as the dorm for quiet, artsy, theater nerds. Personally, I love Lyman bec of the two room doubles (so I have my own room, and my roommate has her own room), the fact that it is quieter -but a lot less regulated than the all freshman dorms - our bathrooms don’t have key codes, quiet hours don’t need to be enforced, basically, there’s not very many rules. Jewett is probably the best bet for most freshman - if you want the typical rowdy, partying freshman experience, live in jewett - you live with all freshmen - so you meet a lot of your class (lyman is only about half freshmen, but we meet great upper classmen) - be warned: there is definite substance abuse in jewett: lots of drinking (not everyone drinks, but there is a much stronger drinking culture in jewett as opposed to Lyman) There are no substance free dorms for freshman. In jewett, there are four floors: first floor is called the pitt bec its like the basement, all girls. Second floor and third floor have wings that are either all boys or all girls (but there are girls and boys on the same floor) fourth floor is completely co-ed. To people that live in the lyman/jewett area, Anderson feels like its really far away - it’s the most far away all freshman dorm from the academic buildings and ankey field (the heart of campus) (I don’t know a lot of Anderson people bec I have no reason to walk all the way across campus to go over there when it’s 16 degrees out (we have had beautiful crystalline frost lately)) Prentiss is all girls - please please please, consider carefully before writing Prentiss down on you housing form - make sure you are prepared to live with ALL girls (and sorority girls too - the sororities are housed in Prentiss too), some people do very well living with all girls, but other people, once they begin to live there, realize that they wish they lived in jewett or Anderson so they could have had some boys around. But its also important to note that Prentiss is one of the prettiest dorms in all of Whitman (I think lyman’s outside appearance is slightly better), and the inside of Prentiss is beautiful with a grand piano (lyman has a regular piano that is played all the time by residences -it’s quite lovely to come home to live classical music - some people also play the violin next to the piano). Prentiss’s inside is very stately and grand in their lobby/sitting room area, and they have air conditioning in their rooms (the only dorm with AC) and some rooms are the two room doubles like lyman has. Overall, Prentiss is probably the nicest dorm physically, but you are living with all girls.
so in recap:
Lyman: “quirker” than most dorms: all grades, 2 rm doubles, nerdy/ artsy but with some really cool people too (I am biased): we have created a lyman first yr family
Jewett: your typical freshman experience with all first yrs (note: drinking)
Anderson: like jewett in many respects, viewed as far away from academic buildings/ankey (but mind that Whitman’s campus is so small that far away means 5 minutes extra walk)
Prentiss: beautiful dorm, but ALL girls
I hope this long winded answer helps